Streamlining the Conduct of Cancer Clinical Trials: New Standard Data Collection Practices for National Cancer Institute Late Phase Clinical Studies.

The increase in the complexity of cancer clinical trials over the past several decades has led to a dramatic growth in trial cost and operational burden. The extent and frequency of data collection, particularly in late phase trials which enroll many participants, have been major contributors to this problem. The Clinical Trials and Translational Research Advisory Committee of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) recently assessed the impact of these stressors on the NCI National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN) and recommended that data collection in late phase NCTN trials be limited to data elements essential to address the primary and secondary objectives of the trial.

Cancer Care Delivery Research: Building the Evidence Base to Support Practice Change in Community Oncology.

Understanding how health care system structures, processes, and available resources facilitate and/or hinder the delivery of quality cancer care is imperative, especially given the rapidly changing health care landscape. The emerging field of cancer care delivery research (CCDR) focuses on how organizational structures and processes, care delivery models, financing and reimbursement, health technologies, and health care provider and patient knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors influence cancer care quality, cost, and access and ultimately the health outcomes and well-being of patients and survivors. In this article, we describe attributes of CCDR, present examples of studies that illustrate those attributes, and discuss the potential impact of CCDR in addressing disparities in care.

Implementation of timeline reforms speeds initiation of National Cancer Institute-sponsored trials.

Background: The National Cancer Institute (NCI) organized the Operational Efficiency Working Group in 2008 to develop recommendations for improving the speed with which NCI-sponsored clinical trials move from the idea stage to a protocol open to patient enrollment.

Methods: Given the many stakeholders involved, the Operational Efficiency Working Group advised a multifaceted approach to mobilize the entire research community to improve their business processes. New staff positions to monitor progress, protocol-tracking Web sites, and strategically planned conference calls were implemented.

The Translational Research Working Group developmental pathway for lifestyle alterations.

The Translational Research Working Group (TRWG) was created as a national initiative to evaluate the current status of National Cancer Institute's investment in translational research and envision its future. The TRWG conceptualized translational research as a set of six developmental processes or pathways focused on various clinical goals. One of those pathways describes the development of lifestyle alterations, which can, variously, be recommended to prevent cancer, modify a patient's adherence and response to cancer treatment, ameliorate side effects of cancer treatments, or improve prognosis and quality of life in cancer patients and survivors.

Translational Research Working Group developmental pathway for immune response modifiers.

The Translational Research Working Group (TRWG) was created as a national initiative to evaluate the current status of the investment of National Cancer Institute in translational research and envision its future. The Translational Research Working Group conceptualized translational research as a set of six developmental processes or pathways focused on various clinical goals. One of those pathways describes the development of immune response modifiers such as vaccines and cytokines.

The Translational Research Working Group developmental pathway for anticancer agents (drugs or biologics).

The Translational Research Working Group (TRWG) was created as a national initiative to evaluate the current status of the National Cancer Institute's investment in translational research and envision its future. The TRWG conceptualized translational research as a set of six developmental processes or pathways focused on various clinical goals. One of those pathways describes the development of agents-both small molecules and biologics-for the treatment and prevention of cancer.

Translational Research Working Group developmental pathway for biospecimen-based assessment modalities.

The Translational Research Working Group (TRWG) was created as a national initiative to evaluate the current status of National Cancer Institute's investment in translational research and envision its future. The TRWG conceptualized translational research as a set of six developmental processes or pathways focused on various clinical goals. One of those pathways describes the development of biospecimen-based assays that use biomarkers for the detection, diagnosis, and prognosis of cancer and the assessment of response to cancer treatment.

The Translational Research Working Group developmental pathways: introduction and overview.

The Translational Research Working Group (TRWG) was created as a national initiative to evaluate the current status of the National Cancer Institute's investment in translational research and envision its future in an inclusive, representative, and transparent manner. To clarify the challenges facing translational research and facilitate its deliberations, the TRWG conceptualized translational research as a set of developmental processes or pathways focused on various clinical goals. Drawing on the collective knowledge of the TRWG members, six pathways were derived, with two addressing the development of tools designed to characterize an individual's cancer-related health status (biospecimen-based and image-based assessment modalities) and four addressing the development of interventions intended to change cancer-related health status (drugs or biological agents, immune response modifiers, interventive devices, and life-style alterations).

The economic burden of dry eye: a conceptual framework and preliminary assessment.

Purpose: To develop a conceptual framework for analyzing the economic burden of dry eye and a preliminary assessment of key factors that contribute to that burden.

Methods: The MEDLINE database was searched from 1966 to May 2003 combining the term "dry eye" with various economic terms. In addition, individual interviews with a panel of clinicians were conducted to provide additional insight on resource use.